MMBN Sidestory: Zero
by Istar Magus
Summary: Chapter 5 has been uploaded finally. My computer had been stolen, and it took me a long time to get a new one. Thankfully I had all the original work saved on an SDcard. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own the names of all the original characters used in this story. All characters named belonging to the Megaman series belong to Capcom.

Author's Note: This is the second time I've posted this story on FFN, but the first copy really sucked as it was written while I was still a kid. Please review the chapters if you like it. I was only recently introduced to the Traffic feature of FFN, so I actually have a way of knowing if people read this.

Chapter One: Power, Control, Stability

Takeda Shinkei had been tossing and turning all night long. The gnawing, relentless restlessness of his mind banished any possibility of sleep, despite his body's desire for a peaceful slumber. Tight muscles flexed as his arms heaved and lifted his firm, strong frame from the soft mattress to roll onto his back. _Soft? Heh, tonight's one of those nights where it just doesn't matter I suppose_,Shinkei thought, aggravation twisting his handsome face cruelly. Bloodshot emerald eyes stared through locks of brown hair impatiently at the alabaster ceiling glowing blue with the light from Shinkei's PC monitor. _God damn him! What the hell does he know anyway!_ the sixteen year-old thought.

Powerless.

Above all the feelings in the world, Shinkei hated this one the most. To be powerless was to be unable to control one's life, and without control everything around him would be unstable. A cursed, vicious trifecta whose factors created utter chaos if they were not in perfect harmony. Shinkei felt powerless, and because of that, everything else was threatened. It was no wonder that frustration robbed him of sleep with his pitiless, unending mocking.

_It's not even my fault! It's HIS! Damn Sai! My god damn little brother!_ the emerald eyed teen screamed in his mind, choking out all other thoughts.

Abandoning the hope that this night retained any respite for him, the tall youth rolled out of bed. Standing, he could barely believe that he had just about breached six feet in height. At this rate, he'd be taller than anyone else in his family, even his father who was an impressive six feet and two inches tall. The warm summer night had given Shinkei cause to abandon his nightshirt, leaving his exposed, muscular chest; his tight, well-built frame was the fruit of his athletic endeavors as a swimmer for the majority of his life. _Maybe if I spent less time in the pool, and more time in front of a computer I'd have some kind of revelation and become like Sai,_ Shinkei thought with helplessness overwhelming him.

Certainly, athletic achievement on the level of Shinkei's was nothing to balk at. It's not everyday that a sophomore is placed on the varsity high school swim team, nor is it every season that same youth becomes a state-ranked distance swimmer. Unfortunately, this world wasn't ruled by the athletic, but the intelligent. Such is the way of fate when the entire world is run on the internet. Those who held the power in the internet were the most powerful people in the world. Children's heroes were no longer sports stars, but Net Battlers.

Even the youngest child could tell you of the historic day that the future of the world was decided. The day that the United Alliance government declared the Net Society Plan put forth by Doctor Hikari Takashi was the path to the bright new future they had promised. Within the course of the last part of the twentieth century and the first few decades of the twenty-first century the entire world became connected to the Net, a program that transformed the simple internet into a living, interactive cyberspace world.

To facilitate the interface between humans and cyberspace the Personal Terminal, better known as the PET, was invented. It was essentially the next step forward from popular touch-based phones of the early twenty-first century that had no way of utilizing the Net properly. The PET was capable of connecting to the NET, and from there the user could do anything from access their bank records or hold video chat sessions with friends entire continents away. The PET was also programmed with a basic Net Navigator Assistant, now simply referred to as a Navi, that followed voice commands in order to utilize the Net's various functions. Processing speed was transformed from bits of data flowing through currents over the web to travel time for the Navi to reach the required Net program and access whatever it was you desired. It was simple, quick, and reliable.

Quite soon, as had been popular with old-tech operating systems, programmers began modifying and customizing the Navi programs, giving them new appearances or tweaking their programs to enhance processing speed or signal output. Some even began creating custom programs that were pseudo-weapons that would weaken signal output of a Navi, potentially deleting them by accident if too much force was applied. It was the creation of recreational net battling. After a year of heavy losses, SciLab was forced to start producing its own generic Net Navis compatible with the net battling programs, but soon recovered those losses by purchasing the rights to create and manufacture battle chips, temporary programs that gave Navis access to various new weapons. Certainly, though, there was no law prohibiting other brilliant programmers from creating their own customized Navi programs, in fact most of them quickly picked up jobs with either SciLab or the Official Net Battlers Association (ONBA), which acted like a sort of cyber-police force.

Takeda Sai, Shinkei's younger brother, was one such programmer. At the age of only ten, Sai had completed high school, and it was clear that academics were not even his strong point. By the time he was twelve, Sai had actually created his first custom Net Navi, and now that he was fourteen he had created what most called a masterpiece, Crystalman. Not only was he a gifted programmer, but he was a ruthless and skilled Net Battler as well. ONBA had awarded him a S-rank License for his help in defeating several of the early WWW threats. One of the many things that infuriated him about his brother was that, with as gifted a programmer he was, he refused to customize Shinkei's SciLab Navi.

"Such gifts are wasted on those who lack the talent to truly utilize them," he would say, his face emotionless and calculating as always.

Thankfully, Shinkei wasn't totally without back-up in the face of his brother. No, Shinkei had one ace-in-the-whole: his best friend, Yagami Kai. Kai was a living legend, the best Net Battler in the entire region with SS-rank privileges granted to him by ONBA without even being an official member of the organization! Kai had taken his Navi deep into the pits of the Undernet, a restricted portion of the Net filled with viruses, wild Navis, and other dangers. When he returned, the Navi had been reprogrammed and wielded ferocious dark power. It took on the name Shademan, after the enigmatic vampiric Net Navi spoken of in rumor. Nobody, not even Sai, dared to cross paths with Kai.

Unfortunately, that left Shinkei to be the powerless one of the trio. A fact that haunted him sometimes to the point of losing sleep, such as that night. Shinkei removed his PET from the charger and linked up to the Net on his computer. The latest PETs were all wireless now, for too many sad events had taken place when an operator had been unable to use the USB link to access the Net. The visual display on the monitor warped to the swimmer's homepage. Ryo, Shinkei's Navi, appeared on the screen. "Shinkei, it is quite late. You should be sleeping. After all, even though it is summer there is no excuse to neglect your health," the Navi said with programmed concern. Another of the benefits of a custom Navi was their Advanced AI program which made them more like a living, breathing companion than a computer program.

"You let me mind my health, Ryo. I simply need to get on the Net long enough to clear my head and tire my mind," Shinkei said in an exasperated voice. The Navi acquiesced his request and instantly uploaded into the Net. It was late on the Net in his region, and most kids were asleep. The message boards held no interest to Shinkei, nor did the empty square. Any operator staying up this late was off hunting down viruses on the RegionNet or, perhaps, seeking passage into the Undernet.

Nothing to do.

Shinkei had Ryo access the RegionNet, hoping to find something other than the boring emptiness of the Square. The plasma monitor shimmered as the ultra-defined polygons gathered together to form the RegionNet, a vast area of cyberspace that led to all the important access points on the Net. It too was empty. Shinkei shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The RegionNet couldn't _possibly_ be empty. Antivirus, advertisement, and search engine programs were supposed to litter the RegionNet at all times of day, everyday. Programs didn't need or take days off.

Something was very wrong.

The high-definition display in front of his began to warp and shift in a certain area just a few net-meters from where Ryo stood. Shinkei had never seen anything like it before. The teen's surprised emerald eyes focused on what could only be called a "tear" in cyberspace. It was beautiful. The colors of the tear were delicate, but powerful, and without a doubt alluring. Shinkei felt himself transfixed, unable to bring his Navi out of the Net and back to his PET. Had Ryo been a custom Navi, he perhaps would protest at being placed at such a mysterious event, but thankfully he had no mind of his own. Perhaps it was better that way.

This was not the kind of event that Shinkei ever thought his eyes would witness. This was something that Sai was supposed to see, or Kai, but not him. Not the powerless, no-talent operator Takeda Shinkei. No, it was in these next few moments that perhaps, just maybe, his life would change. The tear grew wider and longer, as if it needed to accommodate something of immense size. When a dark figure, much smaller than expected, came out of the tear Shinkei sent Ryo forward.

The generic red-colored Navi moved to inspect the figure that had fallen through. "What is it, Ryo?" Shinkei asked softly. The Navi looked down, uploading the image to Shinkei's computer. It appeared on screen instantly, the strange figure that had fallen from the ominous tear looming behind it. It was a Navi, or what was left of one!

The teen had never seen any Navi in the condition he found that one. Its armor was shattered, small red fragments were the only traces left. The helm was cracked and the Navi Symbol, the core of the program, was in pieces. This mysterious red Navi was on the verge of deletion; pieces of its body were becoming fragmented data and fading into cyberspace. Ryo knelt to get a better look when suddenly the Navi grabbed it with a shockingly strong left hand.

"H---h---help me!" The navi cried out in a raspy, static-filled voice. Its vocal programs were going fast.

"Shinkei, what do we do?" Ryo asked.

"If y---y---you don't h---h---h----help…I d---die," it begged in the same static from a second ago.

At this point, most of the legs were gone, and the right arm was fading quickly. Shinkei pulled at his brown hair. What could he possibly do? His face twisted with indecision. Unfortunately, this was not one of the times that he could simply give in to indecision as his guide. "I'm not a programmer like Sai, what can I do? I'm powerless…" Shinkei said helplessly.

"Is it p---ower y---y---ou want? M---m---m---ine y--ou c---c---an have," the Navi forced out as its right arm vanished.

Shinkei looked at the Navi on the display. The lower body was beginning to fragment and disappear. _Power? Did this Navi just promise me power? Shinkei thought. Yes, it had. He looked at the Navi. Whatever had happened to it, something gave Shinkei the sense that any other navi would already have been deleted. The Navi had to have been powerful._

_Power. Control. Stability._

_This Navi was just like him, Shinkei decided. Someone had taken away his power, his control, and his stability. Shinkei was flesh and blood, the Navi was codes and algorithms, but they were cut from the same cloth. It was one of those rare moments, on the cusp between the present and the future where Fate loses its power over the course of your life and you are free, for that singular moment, to forge a new destiny for yourself._

"_What do I do?"_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: My Name is Zero

Chapter Two: My Name is Zero

"D--own--l--l--oad and th--then ex--," the static voice scratched, but suddenly stopped. The vocal program was now gone, and with it were the instructions the damaged Navi could provide. Shinkei, however, was determined enough to go on ahead without any instruction. Sometimes, you just had to trust your instinct to guide you. _I have to download the navi? That would require a storage device of incredible size. I'd need a second PET to…no, wait, the navi is coming apart and has so little data left that I could store it on my own PET,_ Shinkei realized, stunned at his own brilliance. A small voice in the back of his mind tried calling out to him to remind him that there was more to it than downloading the Navi's fragmented code, unfortunately Shinkei was uninterested in listening.

"Ryo, can you download his remaining data to the PET?" Shinkei asked, "Remember, we don't have much time."

Ryo nodded, knowing full well his master's intent on saving this corroding program. It took only a nanosecond to analyze the remaining data and determine whether or not there would be room to store it. Shinkei would be pleased, there was plenty of room. "Activate the download as soon as the check is complete, look," Shinkei said, pointing out the fact that the mysterious navi was now nothing more than the chest, left arm, and head. Pity swelled in the sixteen year-old's gut to see what looked like immense pain on the cyber-stranger's face. _Don't worry, I will save you,_ Shinkei promised himself silently.

"I will begin the download now, Shinkei," Ryo said, having completed his task.

Downloading Data

A series of numbers began flying down the screen of his PET, apparently the code of the Navi being downloaded. Shinkei had never seen anything like it, so he prayed that was the normal flow of events during a download of such importance. His emerald gaze once again returned to the monitor, as he hoped to see through Ryo's eyes what was going on. The remainder of the red navi's body began to glow with a soft crimson light, the medallion on the forehead of his helmet's remains shimmered with its own unique azure luminescence. Pain seemed to drain from the face of the damaged Navi, replaced by a serene look. Shinkei knew he'd saved him in time. Looking to the PET, a message blinked on the display:

Finished Downloading Z.BAT

"Z? What's that mean?" Shinkei wondered. Unfortunately, the intensity of the events had robbed Shinkei's mind of its earlier thoughts of frustration, and in the absence of the rage it seemed his body no longer had the strength to remain awake. "Ryo, you did well, Jack Out," Shinkei whispered, recalling his Navi to the PET before setting it back in the charger. Shinkei forsook the glow of the computer for the comfort of his soft bed. _I was wrong, tonight was definitely not one of the nights this comfortable mattress fails to make a difference,_ he thought as he drifted off into a peaceful, if not excited sleep. After all, tomorrow was a big day.

_I hate to have to come back here, especially after yesterday's utter defeat, but if I'm going to get any answers about "Z.BAT" I can't go to SciLab or ONBA. Not even Kai can answer questions like this. No, only a genius programmer can help me now. Damn shame I only know one,_ Shinkei thought, a wry annoyance nettling his face. After all, it was unlikely that Shinkei could get away with going to an official, government run office to find out about a corroded Navi that appeared from a tear in cyberspace in the RegionNet while it was completely void of the programs that were always there. It would raise too many questions, and would probably result in him losing the program the Navi had given him. No, that Navi had promised him power, and Shinkei intended to collect on that promise.

The only good thing was that Sai's lab was built in an underground safe house that had been modified from its original purpose as a bomb shelter from the mid twentieth century. It was safe, secret, and secure: Sai's three favorite s-words. The safe house was beneath a park that Shinkei particularly liked to visit, though not for the reason of going to see his younger brother. No, the emerald-eyed youth simply loved being outdoors letting the sun warm him and delight in the verdant flora that was a vignette of delicate color. It didn't take long to find the fake tree with the DNA lock hidden within the bark. It was a perfectly secure mechanism that prevented intruders from getting inside Sai's precious lab.

Too bad it was DNA based.

Sai's words of annoyance echoed in his mind, as he heard it without fail every time he entered the lab without his younger brother's approval, "I swear that thing must be broken. How could anyone as weak as you be related to me?" he would say. Red rage washed over Shinkei's face, but he suppressed it before he laid his hand on the cool metal plate. With a small pinprick to his pinky, the DNA sample was collected and approved, revealing the entrance to the lab. The soft, repetitive sounds of Shinkei's footfalls were all that could be heard for the better half of a minute while he traveled the thirty yards underground to Sai's sanctuary.

"I swear that thing must be broken…" Sai started.

"I know, right? I couldn't be related to someone as arrogant as you," Shinkei said, startling his younger brother.

Sai turned slowly in his chair, his piercing gaze falling on his older brother. Shinkei could swear his blue eyes were more akin to a raptor than a human with the way they dissected and analyzed him. "Arrogance is a sign of unwarranted confidence in one's ability. However, I'm sure you know all about unwarranted confidence, don't you, Shinkei?" Sai said, disrespectfully.

"I've told you before, Sai-chan, that you are to refer to your brother more respectfully, lest one day I be in the mood to teach you a lesson," the elder said as emerald met azure in the violent stare down.

"Don't come down here when you need something and expect me to call you 'onii-san' after what I did to you yesterday. Yes, I know you need something, ore else you would never have returned so soon. The only question is…what?" azure cut through him like a surgeon probing for cancer.

_Damn those demon eyes, they see everything don't they,_ Shinkei thought, breaking the deadlock. "You're right, I do have something I need from you. I downloaded a program last night on the RegionNet that I want you to take a look at. I need to know more about it before I use it," he said, trying to avoid the details of the encounter with the damaged Navi.

"Bullshit," Sai said bluntly, "the entire RegionNet crashed last night do to a hacker. I spent all night trying to bring it back online."

"Think what you will, but I was online last night. On the RegionNet. Check my Net access records if you don't believe me. S-rank ONBA have access to those, don't they?" Shinkei said, testing.

Sai's right hand grabbed the mouse and within a few clicks, Shinkei's profile picture was onscreen. It displayed all his legal data, residence, personal records, etc. Included in those were the registered uses of the Net within his home. Sai peered over the data, and a small flash of shock flickered through his eyes. Had the elder Takeda brother not been paying attention, he would likely have missed it, but he had seen it: Sai had been shocked. "Okay, so you aren't full of it. Spill it, what did you find?" he said coldly.

Shinkei removed his standard gray PET from its holster and placed it in front of his younger brother. "Check for the file, Z.BAT," he said calmly, "that's the one I'd like to know about." Stepping back he allowed Sai to connect his computer to the PET's input slot. "Crystalman, I'm going to need you on this one," Sai said.

"What is it, Sai-sama?" a voice came from somewhere in the dimly lit lab.

Shinkei looked around for the source of the sound. Their mother would be horrified if she saw the state of the lab, that is for sure. The lights were nearly all off, save the ones at the entrance, and the only source of illumination were the various computer screens scattered around the room. There were a few roller-chairs in one corner, probably for any "guests" that might come by, and in the middle was the holographic display generator used during Net Battles to give a full, realistic view of the combat. Eventually, his emerald eyes tired of the search and he returned his gaze to the younger brother, who looked rather frustrated.

As if in response to his older brother's returning glance, Sai shot around glaring at Shinkei. "What the hell is this thing? Z.BAT, is without a doubt a batch program, simply based on the file extension, but why the blazing hell did you bring me a 1024-bit encoded file!" he said explosively. Had his eyes been daggers, they certainly would have carved Shinkei alive. 1024-bit encoded file? Shinkei didn't know that meant it was double the level of encryption as the current highest level, something that would take even Sai months to decode.

"So the mighty genius found something he can't crack, huh. Oh, well, I suppose I'll have to go elsewhere," Shinkei said, reaching for his PET. Sai's eyes glared at him, burning with fury, they were the demon's blue eyes.

"Oh, hell no, you're not leaving without a fight. You've gone and ticked me off for the last time today, it's on!" Sai bellowed angrily.

"I have no intention of fighting you, Sai, not today," Shinkei said.

"Oh yeah? I'm sure SciLab and ONBA will be interested in how you managed to get your hands on a 1024-bit encoded batch program off the RegionNet while it was completely inaccessible to anyone else," the azure eyes threatened.

Shinkei knew better than to doubt that threat, too. The damned boy was a monster when he threw a fit, and with his connections there was no doubt in his mind that Z.BAT would be lost to him unless he gave in to the demon's outraged demands. "Fine, I'll give you what you want, but just keep the program a secret," the older brother said, defeated. Everything was becoming out of control, unstable. The sense of powerlessness once again began to creep inside of him. This was not what he'd planned, but every time he saw his younger brother it turned into the same outrageous debacle. Taking back his PET, he strode to his side of the holo-arena in practiced disgrace while Sai took to his side.

Pointing his gray PET at the wireless input/output jack he said wearily, "Jack In, Ryo."

His younger brother pointed his own PET at the jack, it sparkled like a gem with its custom sapphire-colored shell. "Jack In, Crystalman! Time to teach nii-chan a lesson!" he shouted savagely. Shinkei winced in aggravation, for he hated being referred to in such childish, disrespectful terms. _I still don't know how to use the power that Navi promised me. What am I going to do?_ Shinkei thought, anxious at the thought of another defeat.

Unfortunately, he no longer had time to think, only to act. The holo emitters came online with illuminating light that blinded both brothers for a moment, as the light was an unwelcome interruption of the dim gloom that permeated the lab. Ryo was the first to upload, his humanoid figure solidified in the light of the holographic emitter. Ryo was the perfect example of the gray, generic navi that anyone could purchase when they got a PET, barely enough skin tone to make its face seem human. He got the basic Navi job done, but would never be able to defeat a custom Net Navi in battle. _He's got zero chance,_ Shinkei thought. For some reason, he felt the little voice in the back of his head whispering again, but ignored it. He had to focus on the battle at hand.

Crystalman appeared next in a dazzling blue light. As it faded it left in its wake a tall, muscular navi clad in blue from head to foot. His armor, gauntlets, boots, and helmet all seemed to be made from sea-blue pearl, accentuated by the shimmered crystal spikes decorating the armor and helm. Crystalman stared down Ryo with the same demon azure eyes that Sai had with a devilish grin on his face. "Again you send me into battle with this…trifle. Not even worthy of being called a Navi," Crystalman said.

"Words truer could only be spoken of nii-chan over there," the navi's operator commented slyly.

Shinkei's eyes narrowed. _Here it comes,_ he thought. Shinkei knew all of Crystalman's moves, but that didn't mean that Ryo could do anything about it. Not for long, at least. Despite the pressure he was given, the emerald-eyed brother had a keen insight into Sai's tactics, and would do his best to throw a curve-ball where appropriate.

_Feint dash, trying to throw me off guard, _Shinkei thought. As he thought it, Crystalman bum brushed Ryo, but with perfect control went around him and began circling him. _He's got amazing processing speed, which translates into godly speed in a net battle. What's worse is that he maintains total control of his data stream during it, so he never misses a beat,_ Shinkei thought, analytically, _Ryo, on the other hand, has no such ability. He might as well be standing still. Got to wait for the right moment, just before he attacks._ And surely enough, Crystalman did, barehanded. Sai was making as statement, "You're not even worth battle chips," Shinkei could hear, though it was never spoken.

Slot In, Barrier

Shinkei's battle chip was inserted into the PET just in the nick of time, taking the damage meant for Ryo by created a light shield around the generic navi. "A barrier won't save you, even a well-timed one," Sai said, his voice, like ice, freezing Shinkei. Once again, he could feel that sense of powerlessness overwhelming his courage, but held it back. The nagging voice in the back of his head returning, only to also be held back with the sense of powerlessness.

"I need this to work," the elder brother thought, reaching into his side pouch of chips.

Slot In, Shadow

As Crystalman was about to land another punch, Ryo turned pitch black as the sapphire navi's hand went straight through Ryo's face. The protection the Shadow gave Ryo made him immune to everything but sword chips. This was Shinkei's statement, "Don't play games with me, little brother." Sai seemed to understand as he wordlessly reached into his side pouch.

"I can see you borrowed a chip from Kai. Only he'd be smart enough to think up such a good strategy," Sai said in rebuke.

He was half right. The chip had been borrowed, but it was Shinkei who'd come up with the idea. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten to use the chip in their fight yesterday and had been clobbered mercilessly. As the sword chip transformed Crystalman's right arm into a glowing energy blade, Shinkei prepared for the worst. The sword sliced right through the Shadow chip's protective program, hurling Ryo backwards with heavy damage. The elder brother's thought's raced, _How could I have been so dumb to think that would work. Sai can defeat me with a thought. I'm utterly…_

Powerless.

The voice in Shinkei's mind would no longer be ignored. It railed against him for his weakness. His fear that he was unable to overcome his little brother, who seemed so much better than him at everything that mattered. It also called to him, reminding him of his pact with the damaged Navi from last night. The voice came to him now, from within his memory, clear and concise. _Sometimes, you just had to trust your instinct to guide you,_ he reminded himself.

"Is it power you want? Mine you can have. Download and execute," it had said to him. Why had it taken so long for him to piece it all together? The simple answer was, of course, that his fear and anxiety had overwhelmed his reason. He was so afraid that he was incompetent with Navis, that only Sai would know what to do, and so afraid that others would try to take away from him the gift of the Z.BAT.

Crystalman stared down Ryo, tired of the game. "Today is the day I finish you. Prepare for deletion," he said. Instantly the sword switched to the left arm. "Master, may I use _it_? I have fought this one many times, and feel that with his death I should perfect my technique," Crystalman requested. Sai shrugged.

"He's not worthy of it, but I will honor your request. Test _it _out on the powerless navi of my powerless brother if that is your desire. This battle bores me now, anyway," Sai said.

Powerless.

Shinkei raised up his PET and began pressing the buttons, slowly. Crystalman raised his blade to eye-level and took a ready stance. "Be honored, Ryo, that you die to the technique my creator gave me to master, Gattotsu," the navi said. With that, the blitzkrieg speed of Crystalman thrust forward beyond anything the emerald eyed teen had ever seen. Unfortunately, it would all be for not.

_I refuse to be powerless anymore._

"Execute, Z.BAT," Shinkei said softly, just as Crystalman closed in for the killing blow.

The holo emitter overloaded, a pillar of light shooting up from the battlefield. Both Takeda brothers recoiled in blinded pain, shielding their eyes from the harmful illumination. "What the hell just happened!" Sai shouted furiously. The light dimmed down to its normal glow, and the operators looked to the field. For the second time that day their contrasting eyes both held the same expression, but this time it was shock. A strange new navi stood before Crystalman, holding off the Gattotsu with his index finger. Ryo was nowhere to be found.

The Navi was shorter than Crystalman, but no less well built. His body was garbed in black with white trim protected by crimson armor with two emeralds glinting delicately in either extreme of the collar. His black arms were protected by bracers and shoulder guards of similar crimson, as were his boots of the same hue. The helm protecting his head was black with ornate, crimson crests raising up on either side and a azure gem in the middle, though a spout of blonde hair whipped behind the navi in a ponytail. The Navi's own pair of emerald green eyes glared at his azure opponent. The two could not have been more opposites, just like the two brothers.

"Looks to me like your new move still needs practice, fool," the crimson navi said.

Takeda Shinkei's verdant eyes beheld the navi he'd saved the previous night. The program he'd used had either totally rewritten Ryo or completely customized him to match perfectly with this new Navi. Either way, he was exceedingly glad he had activated the program, for he could see now that the promise had come true.

"What kind of game is this, Shinkei! I demand to know who that Navi is and where Ryo went!" Sai cried out in rage.

"Don't answer him, Shinkei! I shall explain everything so his feeble mind can comprehend it. Ryo and I are one now, his program supplemented my lost data, so, in a way, I am Ryo, but so much more," the crimson Navi spoke, as Sai stood in complete shock at being insulted by a Navi. Continuing, the new Ryo locked eyes with Shinkei's younger brother, and though he was in the cyber world it felt like he stood before them for real. "My name…is Zero."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Z-Saber

Chapter Three: The Z-Saber

With a mere flick of his wrist Zero sent Crystalman flying back a couple dozen net-meters! The elder brother couldn't believe what he was witnessing. _His_ Navi was pushing back Crystalman. _Zero…so that's what the "Z" stood for in Z.BAT_, Shinkei began to unravel in his mind. The program he had just activated instantly customized his old, generic navi, Ryo, into a completed version of the damaged navi that had appeared from the tear in cyberspace. He couldn't believe his eyes, nor could he bring himself to speak.

"Shin-kun, I'd suggest you tell me what you want to do. I can't just stand around," Zero said, referring to Shinkei in a friendly manner.

Shaking his head, he was about to give a command when Crystalman burst forward again. "Crystalman, that was just a ploy! Get rid of this Navi, now!" Sai cried out in frustration. The two brothers exchanged a glance, and the older brother knew the demon was not through raging yet. The sapphire navi began dashing around Zero with the same mind-boggling speed he'd used against Ryo. Zero sneered.

"Do you seriously think you can use the same techniques again, Crystalman? My former self already observed this pathetic use of speed," he called out, blonde ponytail whipping with the force of the cyber wind Crystalman was generating. "It seems I'm going to have to teach you a lesson," the crimson navi said as his emerald eyes narrowed, "right, Shinkei?" Zero's operator nodded in agreement. Those eyes were powerful, determined to regain what had been taken away, just as Shinkei. He remembered thinking the night before that, despite the difference in the way they existed, this navi and he were cut from the same cloth.

"I held up my end of the bargain, Zero. It's your turn now," Shinkei said.

"Is it power you want? Mine you can have. Download and execute. Yes, I do seem to remember that," Zero said, smirking as he returned his attention to Crystalman.

Crystalman broke from his circular pattern and brought his sword around in a deadly arc above Zero's helm. On screen it appeared that he cleaved the crimson Navi in a single blow! Shinkei didn't wince for a second, for he knew the truth; Sai's holo emitter simply couldn't process the immense speed at which Zero performed. The left over visual data simply faded away as Crystalman's sword hit the ground and deleted a small portion of the arena floor where the tip of the blade hit it. The azure navi looked around, stunned, unable to locate his prey.

Unfortunately for the sapphire navi, Zero was not around, but above. Falling from above, Zero let out a ferocious war cry as he brought both hands down upon Crystalman's armored back. The shocked Navi's eyes bulged as he felt the impact and slammed into the ground. The force of the impact was so great he rebounded off the arena floor, taking a powerful kick in the side from Zero's crimson boot, and flew to the other side of the arena before coming to a skidding landing.

Sai's demon eyes narrowed, not shocked, but calculating. The younger brother reached into his side pouch and snatched a few chips in his hand. _Zero…that name sounds vaguely familiar. Regardless, I don't care who it is, not a single enemy I've ever faced could withstand this,_ he thought through an unreadable raptor-like glare. The Gattotsu was a special technique derived for use with any sword-type chip, and its power relied on the strength of the blade. Zero had only been able to withstand the attack because it was using the most basic Sword, at least that was Sai's justification. There were other, more reliable ways to vaporize the threat of the crimson navi.

There wasn't a Navi alive powerful enough to laugh off a Program Advance (PA), though. When the original battle chip programmers began to run out of ideas for creating battle chips, they started to develop the idea that by inserting certain combinations of chips would bring their power together into something beyond what the could do separately. This was the birth of the Program Advance, which fused the powers of several weaker chips and created something exponentially stronger. Few net battlers could accomplish the task, for it required incredible synchronization with their navi to perform. Of course, Sai was synchronized at a high enough level to use them, after all he did create Crystalman.

Slot in 3x Cannon: A, B, C

Program Advance: Giga Cannon

The coordination required to slot in the battle chips at just the correct intervals so that they would upload into the Navi without over-riding the one just before had taken weeks of training for Sai to finally be able to accomplish. Regardless of how synchronized with his Navi he was, the timing had to be perfect or nothing would happen. Thankfully, his timing was immaculate, _As always, _he reminded himself. Crystalman began to let off a radiant glow as the PA uploaded.

Zero didn't have time to waste. "Shinkei, do you have any empty battle chips with you?" he asked. The elder Takeda brother nodded, and without having to be asked, slotted the chip into his PET. It was the first time he'd taken a chance to look at the object he'd had in his hand the entire time, so he was caught a little off guard when he realized that the PET had taken on Zero's signature crimson and black colors. _You don't have time to think about such things right now,_ Shinkei reminded himself as he slid the blank memory chip into the slot.

Slot in, Blank Chip

"Upload data," Zero said, his eyes giving off a soft gleam.

Uploading…

Zero could only pray it would happen in time. The file he was uploading to the chip would save him from the glow he instinctually recognized coming from Crystalman. The azure navi lifted his right arm, and held it pointing directly at Zero. The arm first transformed into a standard buster before mutating into a radiant cannon from the power of the Program Advance. _It's coming_, the navi and operator thought at the same time, _Please let this be in time._

Chip Data Saved: Z-Saber

"Fire! Giga Cannon!" Sai called out, sweeping his right hand to the side swiftly. Crystalman's eyes narrowed, followed by the sound of a click. The radiance exploded forth as a mighty beam of energy streaming forth like lightning towards the seemingly defenseless Zero. Fractal data appeared in the crimson navi's right hand, settling into the form of a white, guardless hilt instantly. The wave of energy was before him, and there was no escape but retreat; there would be no retreat that day.

The room burned with the combined brightness of the Giga Cannon's blue light as well as a mysterious wave of green light that seared across the holo arena. "Not again! what is happening?" Sai cried out. They could only wait for the emitter to soften the glare in the room before the images became clear. It felt like forever, as the fate of the entire confrontation hovered between the two brothers in the holographic arena. Neither brother could admit to anything before they could see the outcome of that final move.

As the emitter lowered its output to the functional level, the arena came back into view. Crystalman was seen first, and with his image Sai dropped to his knees. The undefeated azure Navi stood before them, his armor cleaved in two pieces, one of them on the ground. There was evidence of a slash that had pierced it and underneath the chest was fragmented in a straight, thin, diagonal where the attack had caused the most damage. The navi itself was slumped against the far wall of the arena closest to his operator. The shattered demon eyes gazed desperately at his brother's side of the arena, hoping to see if his Program Advance had done at least twice as much damage to the arrogant Zero.

As the image of the crimson navi began to appear, it was becoming all too clear that Sai's wishes were not going to come true. Zero stood with his right hand above his head, holding aloft a bright green beam saber with a long, wide, angular blade. His blonde hair whipped about defiantly behind him, emerald eyes were closed tightly. Assuming a relaxed standing position, the blade disappeared in a flash of fractal light. Upon further examination, there wasn't a scratch on the crimson armor; Sai's attack had been cut right down the middle as was apparent by the incredible damage to the arena surrounding Zero.

"I think that, perhaps, I have shown my end of our bargain was not a lie," Zero said, opening his emerald eyes and gazed upon Shinkei.

"No, definitely not a lie," Shinkei said, trying to regain control of his rapid breathing. The excitement of seeing Zero completely undamaged, and Crystalman so utterly defeated had overwhelmed the elder brother who was fighting back tears from his own verdant eyes. His new navi flashed him a confident, reassuring smile before looking to Shinkei's younger sibling.

"Apologize, NOW!" Zero said in a commanding tone.

Sai looked up, the demon completely gone from his eyes. He was now simply a young fourteen year old boy, who had received a lesson from his older brother. "I…I…," he said, stumbling for the words necessary to express what he was thinking for once in his life, "No." Focusing, the younger Takeda looked up again at the navi who had so completely overwhelmed Crystalman. "Shinkei has not earned anything, but rather resorted to needing a more powerful navi to make up for his own powerlessness," he said defiantly.

Powerless.

With a powerful thud, Sai was spiraling backward. His older brother had given him a hard right to the chin! Rubbing his knuckles where he'd landed the punch on his younger brother's face, Shinkei glared down on his baby brother with a critical, emerald stare. "Don't you dare refer to your onii-san with that word ever again! Zero may have won the battle, but he would have died last night without my help. If you're not satisfied with the results of the match, then let me assure you now that we can have another fight after you've remembered how to respect your elders," the elder brother said, his words burning with the pent up anger from the years of being seen as lower than someone his junior, let alone his brother.

Takeda Sai stared up, a greenish bruise starting to take shape on the side of his face, with watery blue eyes. "Yes…onii-san," he said, not wanting to be punched again. His father had forbidden Shinkei from hitting his younger brother when they were kids, so with this being the first time he'd ever felt his older brother's wrath he didn't know what to say. They were both old enough now to take some punches, especially with the way they treated each other. _I have a great many things to think on,_ Sai thought to himself angrily, _Shinkei may have proved he's not powerless today, but that doesn't mean that I'm completely satisfied either. Zero…I know that I've heard that name before._

"That is more like it, nii-chan," Shinkei said, smirking, "I'm going to leave now, Jack Out Zero." The crimson navi vanished in a flash of light from the holo emitter's arena. Turning to leave, he calmly strutted to the entrance before stopping one last time. "Oh, and I fully expect that last little 'encounter' will not be mentioned to the parents…if you decide to come home tonight, that is," he said with a threatening stare. When Sai nodded his understanding, the elder brother turned and walked off with satisfaction.

_God, I should have done that months ago_, Shinkei thought with a chuckle as he emerged back into the park.

"I wasn't expecting that, Shinkei. I can honestly say you took me by surprise," a voice from his PET said.

Removing the crimson and black PET from its holster he looked at the screen. Zero looked at his operator questioningly. _I almost forgot that custom navis have artificial intelligence subroutines. Dealing with Zero will be like dealing with a real person,_ Shinkei thought. "Well, to be honest, something in me just snapped. I decided to just follow my instincts. They seem to be leading me down an interesting path these days. After all, my instincts told me to save you and also to use the Z.BAT in battle," the emerald-eyed teen reasoned, "But why do you seemed surprised?"

"Well, to be honest, from what I'd gathered from what you said last night you seemed…weak," Zero said, hoping not to incur his operator's wrath.

Shinkei mood deflated a little, "You know…I was." As the swimmer headed home he explained the relationship between himself, Sai, and his best friend Kai. Zero wiggled in his PET with excitement as the unbelievable power of Shademan was described in full detail by his operator.

"I want to fight him!" Zero said with anticipation dripping from every word.

"We've got a long way to go before I think we'll be able to handle Kai and Shademan. No doubt the way you beat Crystalman was unbelievable, but that was because Sai was unfocused and arrogant. We caught him off guard. Kai has neither trait of my brother, and his Navi is even stronger than Crystalman. In battle, the two of them work perfectly together," Shinkei said.

"You know, the stronger you make him seem, the more powerful he'll be when we do face him," Zero countered.

"What do you mean?" the teen said with a puzzled face.

"Well, if you think his navi is stronger, and that he's a better net battler, then he will be. You're just playing tricks on yourself, or maybe he's playing them on you," the navi explained.

"That's ridiculous, he's my best friend for crying out loud!" Shinkei said angrily.

"I'm sure he doesn't mean to play them on you, but he does it to everybody. Intimidation is nine-tenths of the law, after all," Zero said defensively.

"What's the last tenth?" Shinkei asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Will," Zero replied.

The youth reached his front door and once inside went straight to his room. Shinkei rolled his green eyes in aggravation. His mom had cleaned his room, which of course meant he would know where nothing important was now. Why did he have to have parents who were so willing to do the chores for their kids? Realizing the irony of the statement, the teen simply banished the thought from his mind and accepted that he'd just have to rummage around to find something if he needed it. _Shame that mom doesn't go clean Sai's lab. Then again, she doesn't know where it is,_ Shinkei thought.

Takeda Sai was a tricky character who liked to keep things a secret, even from when he was a small child. He remembered all the times that Sai would sneak into the attic to use the computer late at night until his parents had discovered the hiding spot. It was one of the reasons Sai liked his lab so much; there were never any parents around to enforce a bed time. Shinkei only knew where the lab was because he had a talent for instantly remember directions and Sai had requested a private net battle once to test out his first customized generic navi two years earlier. The older brother winced at the memory of the defeat, but shook the thought from his head as he relished in the fresh victory he'd just had.

Sitting on his bed, he looked at Zero on the screen of the PET. "By the way, Zero, I've been meaning to ask you a couple of questions. Where did you come from? What happened to you?" he asked, yawning.

"In all honesty, I don't recall anything that happened before I found you on the RegionNet. My memory didn't save any of the back-up files from that time. It's like a virtual amnesia, if that makes any sense," the navi began to explain, "As to what happened to cause me to become that damaged, well, that too is lost."

The brown mop of hair on Shinkei's head bobbed as he nodded with understanding. The damage to Zero had been immense, beyond anything he'd ever seen before. No navi he'd ever heard of had possessed that will to live. It really had to be the final tenth of the law. "One last thing then, since it should be fresh memory. What the heck was the thing you used to stop the Giga Cannon?" Shinkei asked, hoping to get at least one answer.

"The Z-Saber? Well, when you uploaded the Z.BAT and I utilized Ryo's data to supplement much of my own fragmented code. I found that I also had access to some of the remaining fragmented data in the program. The Z-Saber was chip data that I must have retained from my previous incarnation. I accessed it more on…instinct. I knew that it was the power that I could use to defeat a Program Advance," Zero tried to explain.

"A single chip powerful enough to defeat a PA? That's incredible! Do you have any more programs like it?" the teen asked with quizzical eyes staring at the crimson navi on the PET's display.

"Well, whatever data remains from my previous incarnation is data that was incompatible with Ryo's basic data. I was able to reconstruct my body, and the Z-Saber was simple enough data that it could be reconfigured for use on a battle chip. The rest of it is too unstable, and to make it usable would require a program far superior to any currently used today, unfortunately," Zero admitted.

Shinkei nodded his comprehension. 1024-bit encryption on mostly fragmented data seemed incredibly extreme. Whatever data remained for recompiling would certainly be powerful if it were that protected. However, these were things that a swimmer knew next to nothing about, so he would let it go, for now. "Well, I'm going to take a nap and recharge the battery on the PET. It's been a crazy day," Shinkei said as he placed the crimson PET in the charger on his desk. _At least mom didn't move that,_ he thought thankfully. With that, the youth plopped on his bed and fell soundly asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Next Generation

Chapter Four: The Next Generation

_What's that strange noise?_ Shinkei thought drearily, half-asleep. For what felt like a few minutes Shinkei had been fighting against the noise in order to stay asleep, but it kept getting louder and louder. It only reminded him of how he'd had to manually override the PET's built-in alarm clock when Sai had programmed it to go off at a random interval when the two were boys. Perhaps Sai had played to trick on him when he'd analyzed Z.BAT earlier that day. Either way, Shinkei was not quite ready to wake-up, unfortunately the noise didn't go away.

"Wake up Shinkei!" Zero shouted again.

When the brown-haired boy finally rolled over with half-open emerald eyes Zero returned the verdant gaze in kind. Suddenly, Shinkei's eyes widened and he sat up in bed. "Was that you this whole time yelling at me, Zero?" the boy inquired weakly, still not fully awake.

"Yes, darn it! I've been trying to wake you for at least five minutes. I tried to activate the PET's alarm function, but for some reason it isn't available," the crimson navi said, tugging his blond ponytail with frustration.

With a soft chuckle, Shinkei replied, "I manually removed the wiring for the alarm on purpose when I was a kid. Sai had set my PET to go off at ungodly times, but I had completely forgotten I had done so while I was asleep. It wasn't until I rolled over that I saw you and realized you were trying to get my attention. After all, Ryo wasn't programmed to wake me up like that."

"You'll find that I do a lot of things Ryo didn't."

"I look forward with enthusiasm to the skills you have yet to display, partner," Shinkei said, still slightly annoyed about being awaken by a noisy Navi. "So what's so important that you felt you had to both…er…wake me up?"

"This." With that, a news broadcast feed came up on Shinkei's computer screen and the volume adjusted itself. There was a young, mildly attractive reporter on the screen, though her choice in wardrobe was quite questionable. The girl had on a beanie shaped like a frog over her shoulder-length auburn hair and wore a strange, greenish makeup that gave an odd twist to her otherwise attractive features. She stood beside a news van that was parked outside of SciLab Headquarters near Dentech City, in the region just east of Shinkei's hometown of Servita.

"With the announcement just made by Doctor Hikari, it seems that the next generation of Net Society will soon be upon us. It seems that, so long as we have the Hikari family to help us out, there will always be hope for a bright future. This is Ribitta, reporting. Try not to croak before you see me again," she said, wrapping her report up with what she must have found a rather hilarious joke.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Shinkei asked

"Ugh, you missed the important part of Ribitta's report! It was talking about how Doctor Hikari and SciLab are on the verge of releasing the Ultimate Program, a super-system that will eliminate all viruses on the Net for good. They called it Sigma," Zero explained.

"Sigma…" the brown-haired youth thought, rubbing his hair with his right hand in contemplation, "But without viruses there would be no need for ONBA, isn't that a bad thing?"

"ONBA has yet to release a statement on their view of SciLab's 'Next Generation of Net Society'," the crimson navi replied.

Nodding his head, Shinkei turned around and quickly made his bed. Leaving Zero on the desk, Shinkei went to the bathroom to relieve himself and brush the bed-head from his messy hair. The soft footfalls of his mother could be heard from below as the swimmer crossed over the living room below the second floor of their home. For a moment, the elder Takeda brother pondered going downstairs to talk about the news report with his mom and to get her input on the situation, but he decided to just wait and see if something would come up on dinner. No, the only person he was truly interested in talking about this subject with was someone who knew everything there was to viruses; the one person he knew who spent his time in the darkest regions of the Net that swarmed with them: Kai.

Re-entering his room, he stared over at his desk. There was a picture of Kai and himself as kids in a green picture frame. Despite the number of years that had passed since the photograph had been taken, Kai hadn't changed all that much. He was a little taller, but he still retained his boyish face and lithe frame, not to mention a pair of azure eyes that matched Sai's raptor-like gaze on occasion. No, the only thing different about Kai was the fact that he'd dyed his hair platinum blonde. A wave of nostalgia causing him to remember all their good times, Shinkei couldn't help but crack a smile.

"So where are we going?" Zero asked politely.

"We're going to meet Kai, He doesn't know we're on our way, but that doesn't really matter with the two of us. We just kinda show up at each other's houses and hang out. Besides, he never answers any calls anymore from anyone. He's in the Undernet ninety percent of the time, and that place requires all his concentration," Shinkei explained.

Reaching for a fresh shirt from his closet, Shinkei selected a black baseball shirt with red sleeves that went half-way down his arms. Taking hold of the crimson and black PET, he looked down at Zero; the Navi had a wide smile on his face. "What is it?" Shinkei inquired.

"I'm just really excited to meet Shademan! Do you think I'll be able to go to the Undernet too?" Zero said brightly.

"I don't know how to get there, and even if I did, it's incredibly dangerous. I've heard from Kai that the first few levels aren't so bad, but that the deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes. It was in the deepest layers of the Undernet that Kai's old Navi became infused with a strange energy and was transformed," Shinkei said, hoping Zero would stop asking questions about a place the operator knew nothing about.

Yelling to his mom that he was heading out to Kai's, he promised to be back by dinner. Going out through the garage, Shinkei quickly hopped onto his black mountain-bike and zoomed out of the driveway. Kai lived about a mile from Shinkei's house, in a neighborhood three-fourths of a mile from his own. The ride took less than five minutes, and with all the training he did on the bike he hadn't broken a sweat at all. "You know, you are quite athletic, Shinkei," Zero said, complimenting his operator.

"Well, thanks," Shinkei said with a laugh, "I'm glad to see you appreciate my hard work over the years."

"Hey, Navis are prized for their signal outputs and processing speeds, so why shouldn't we appreciate operators who perform as well in the real world," Zero said with a grin.

Going up to Kai's garage door, he held up the PET and Zero activated the automatic opening mechanism. It was one of the left-over routines from Ryo's program. Kai's mother had gotten tired of making Shinkei wait outside, so she gave him the code to their garage. Shinkei was practically family anyway in the Yagami household, and everyone at school knew it. He'd adopted the nickname "Yagami Shinkei" from some of the kids at school because of how he and Kai were as close as brothers, Kai was also sometimes called "Takeda Kai".

None of the cars were in the garage, which meant that Kai may not have been home. After all, Kai was seventeen already, and regularly went out in one of his parents cars. Shinkei decided to just give it a look either way. Upon entering the house, he could hear something coming from upstairs, specifically from Kai's room, so he took off his shoes and ran upstairs. Peering through the door, he could hear Kai's voice.

"So have you located him yet?" his best friend's voice asked.

"N--no, sir, we haven't been able to find him," another voice replied, fearfully.

"We had an arrangement, friend. My master and I both must find him," sounded Shademan's smooth, charismatic voice, though with a threatening tone to it now.

"You're asking me for things that take more time than you are giving me! The real Shademan's whereabouts are -" the third party said, but was cut off.

"The REAL Shademan is right in front of you! You would do well to remember that," said Kai roughly.

Shinkei could hear a whimper coming from the sound-system, but was unable to peer in without alerting his friend to his presence. He would wait just long enough to find out what was going on, and then when the situation had cleared up he'd make his presence known. Thankfully, Zero showed the same prudence that his operator did.

"I just need some more time…please!" the third party said.

"I'll give you one more week. And don't you dare try to hide from me, because you know that there's no point," Kai said.

He could hear the squeaking of Kai's chair, obviously relaxing from the tense situation he'd just been in. Shinkei decided it would be smart to back up onto the stair and sound like he was ascending them just now. After softly backing up four stairs, he ran back up them again and called out, "You home, bro?"

Pushing open the door to Kai's room, his friend spun around in his chair to face Shinkei. "Shademan, bring up the lights please, we have guests," Kai said, illuminating the room. Shinkei couldn't get over how light-skinned his friend had become compared to his bronzed skin from summer life guarding. Kai's eyes widened a little bit as he noticed the foreign PET strapped to his best friend's side, "What's that you have there?"

"Oh, noticed so soon? It's my PET, of course. I got it customized," Shinkei replied.

"Oh? Did you customize the navi as well?" his friend said, his blue eyes staring, analyzing each response.

_I feel like I'm talking to Sai all of a sudden, why the hell do they all have to be like that?_ he thought. "Well, aren't you just full of questions today? If you really must know, I beat Sai earlier today."

"You beat Crystalman?" Kai said, almost in disbelief.

"It's not like Sai has another Navi. Besides, that's not what I am here to talk to you about -" Shinkei tried to say, but was interrupted.

"If you beat Crystalman, it wasn't with Ryo. You don't have the programming ability, no offense, to create a Navi that strong, and definitely not the coin, again, no offense, to buy a customized Navi that powerful. So the question is where did you get the power? I know for a fact you don't know how to access the Undernet," Kai interrupted.

"It doesn't matter how I got the power, it's my secret. I'm sure you have your own, like accessing the Undernet for example," Shinkei said, annoyed.

"I haven't told you for your own protection. The Undernet is no place for a Navi like Ryo," Kai said.

"Well I'm not Ryo anymore," Zero said, breaking his silence at last.

Instantly, Kai looked at the PET and asked, "So what are you called, Navi who beat Crystalman?"

"The name is Zero," the crimson Navi answered.

Kai's eyes darkened a little bit. Unlike Sai, he remembered instantly the name "Zero". Now, however, wasn't the time or place to talk about it. "Well, I'm glad to see that my best friend has managed to finally beat Crystalman. You have my thanks, Zero, for helping him find real 'power'."

"Is everyone quite done now?" Shinkei asked.

"What did you come over to talk about?" Kai responded, showing he was done with the subject of his friend's new navi for now.

"You heard about 'Sigma', right?" Shinkei asked.

"Yeah, I sure did. I think it's a joke. After all, even if they did conquer the Net, they would never overcome the Undernet. That place is unlike any other," Kai said, almost with a hint of fondness dripping from his voice.

At that point, Shinkei left the doorway and sauntered over to the bed. Plopping down on the bed, it bounced a few times before the young teen settled. He stared down at the floor, his emerald eyes locked intensely on the white carpet of his friend's room. "The Undernet…it's all you ever talk about. When do you suppose you're going to let me go there?" he said calmly.

Kai looked at his friend, sitting on the bed. His eyes were intent and critical, "You really want to know how to get to the Undernet that badly? You're not even part of ONBA."

"You don't have to an Official Net Battler to go there…most of the operators in the Undernet are hackers or psychos," Shinkei responded.

"Which one do you suppose I am?" Kai said jokingly.

"Probably both, god knows it's the truth," the brown-haired friend said.

"Tell you what…I'll show you the path to the Undernet on the day you identify yourself as a Net Battler, and not a swimmer," Kai said, a hint of challenge in his voice.

"How do you suppose I do that, my friend?"

"Easy. You identify yourself as a swimmer because in the water you are unbeatable. The only way to break that is to find a new world in which you are just that…unbeatable."

"There's only one way I could feel unbeatable," Shinkei said slowly, looking up from the carpet to his friend intently.

"And that is?" Kai responded, as if a teacher in a class waiting for the obvious response.

"I have to beat you…the unbeatable Yagami Kai."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Power of Darkness

"I was hoping you would say that," Kai said, a glimmer of entertainment in his eyes.

Standing from his place on the bed, Shinkei looked into the cerulean stare of his best friend. He remembered how Zero had told him that Kai used confidence as a weapon in the form of intimidation. In all the time they'd known each other, Kai had always been the more outgoing of the two. He dominated not only Net Battles, but the real world as well. Popular and charismatic from day one, he seemed to slip into any group with ease and always had the girls at school talking about him. Shinkei wasn't an outcast or anything, but really the only thing he had going for him was his athletic ability.

_Today, that is going to change_, Shinkei promised himself. Today was the day he was finally going to surpass his friend and break the spell that Kai's woven over him, unintentionally of course. "As if there was any other way to do it anyways," Shinkei said, smirking.

Kai didn't have a Net Battle Arena at home, so the only thing the two could do was take their bikes and travel to the local arcade. "Hey Kai, why don't we just use an ONBA facility? If we go to an arcade it will bring a lot of attention," Shinkei said.

The platinum-haired friend couldn't bring himself to tell Shinkei that they couldn't possibly go to a facility belonging to the Official Net Battlers Association, not with a Navi named 'Zero' in tow. No, that would have to wait until Kai could be sure it wasn't _that_ Zero. "I like attention, you know that," he said with a laugh. Shinkei merely rolled his eyes with a faint smile stretching his lips slightly.

It took longer to get there than Shinkei would've normally been able to get there within, but Kai wasn't as fit as his best friend, so the swimmer took it easy on his best friend. By the time the two got there, the only thing keeping Kai from overheating was the cool autumn breeze that was gracing the parking lot in front of _The Lazy Mettool_, the local cyber arcade. "You done locking your bike up?" Shinkei asked, waiting patiently for his panting partner in crime.

"Don't be so smug, you haven't beaten me yet," Kai said.

"Well, I always win the bike race, but that is merely a battle in today's great war, now, isn't it?" Shinkei asked, grinning.

Shaking his head and laughing a little bit, Kai finished securing his bicycle and the two entered the _Mettool_. Walking into the arcade, the entryway was darkened, but that was it. The rest of the dark-colored room was brightly illuminated by the dozens of Battle Arenas throughout the floor and computers that lined the walls. Waiting at a desk by the entryway was a tall, dark-haired man that went by the name Zack. "Special guest we have here today," Zack said, eyeing Kai, "Didn't know that the Yagami brothers would be dropping in."

"And that's the way it always will be, Zack, so don't you forget it," said the platinum-haired Net Battler.

"Oh, don't be sore about it, now, Kai-san," the owner said respectfully, "Will you be taking your usual station? It, as always, remains reserved for you."Kai and Shademan had taken care of a troublesome group of hackers a few months ago, and as thanks Zack reserved a Battle Arena specifically for Kai's use in the event he might drop in, unannounced. The man was a native of Yumland, and as such spoke with a funny accent and behaved in a manner that appeared strange and quirky to the two teen friends. "I appreciate that, Zack-sama, as always," Kai said respectfully.

"Oh, no need to be so formal with me. After all, I am the one in your debt, my friend. Besides, a lot of customers often show up here, hoping you might be around so they can challenge you. It's good for business, so I promoted the fact that your personal Net Battle Arena was here to the kids that come in from time to time. They've taken to calling it the Nightgod's Shrine, after the kanji in your family name," Zack said, waving the formalities away with his hands.

"Nightgod's Shrine, huh?" the dark-haired youth said as a smirk danced playfully on his lips and looking at Kai knowing that he was getting a huge ego-boost from the idea.

Not showing much interest in the play on the characters of his name, he decided simply to begin walking in the direction of the western wing of the arcade, doubtless the location of 'the Nightgod's Shrine'. Shinkei cracked a smile when his friend didn't return the poke he'd made at him, for the swimmer took it to mean that Kai didn't like the prodding. He was a high-and-mighty personality type, and he did not enjoy being teased about it. _Pride, I swear its going to be the death of him someday,_ the elder Takeda brother thought exasperatedly. "Thank you, Zack-sama, I hope we put on a good show for you today," Shinkei said, waving to the owner of the arcade as he followed his friend towards the machine in the back.

"Sweet guy," Kai said, sarcastically.

"Ah, foreigners are always nice people. I appreciate his earnest intentions," Shinkei said in the man's defense.

Kai shrugged his shoulders as he went around to the far end of the Nightgod's Shrine. Shinkei couldn't help but be impressed with the idea that the Battle Arena they'd played on had been named after his friend. He rarely thought about the literal meaning behind the spelling of his friend's name, but now the irony was almost too much for him. _How fitting that the man whose name is spelled 'Night' and 'God' wields the legendary power of darkness,_ noted Shinkei. It was a fact that Kai doubtlessly understood himself, and perhaps that was the drive he'd had to attain the power in the first place. Shinkei's best friend was a Romantic type, a true believer in myth, astrology, and fate. Maybe Kai had felt that the powers of darkness were his birthright.

Either way, Takeda Shinkei now stood across the way from his best friend, but also, in a way, his greatest rival. Kai was undefeated in Net Battling with Shademan, and if Shinkei could surpass him, then he would be deemed ready for the Undernet. In a way, defeating Shademan was only the first step in a journey, like climbing a mountain, only to realize that the peak was still high up in the clouds. Determination filled Shinkei as he gripped hold of his PET.

"Relax Shinkei, remember what I told you before about Kai," Zero said, breaking his long silence.

"He's only as powerful as I make him out to be," Shinkei said, echoing his Navi's words from earlier that day as he looked down at Zero's image.

"Exactly. We can do this as long as we work together. That's the key here, teamwork. We have to be one in mind on this one," Zero said, coaching his operator.

With a smile on his face, his pulse coming down from the quickened state it had just been in, he said "You're right. If we work together, we have the power to do anything."

"Right," responded the Navi.

From across the way, Kai shouted, "Are you ready, Shin-kun?" Kai asked, resuming the use of honorifics while still leaving a sense of friendship in the air. Shinkei nodded his response and aimed his PET's laser output at the terminal in front of him. Kai did the same, holding his custom black and purple PET.

"Jack In, Zero!" cried out Shinkei, activating the voice command on his personal terminal.

"Jack In, Shademan, let the test begin!" Kai said calmly, his Navi uploading onto the holo emitter.

The room erupted with the brilliant illumination of the emitters as they activated with a loud hum that could be felt through the air. The vibrations of the commercial-sized machine echoed in Shinkei's abdomen. As the virtual arena loaded, the young teen observed how different it was from the arena in Sai's lab. Where his younger brother's area was a more natural landscape intended to mimic reality's great field of combat, the Nightgod's Shrine was a standard arena that looked, at least in Shinkei's opinion, rather cheap by comparison. _Maybe I should've had this battle at Sai's_, he couldn't help but think to himself, but Kai had wanted to do battle in public, _That way everyone will know…right, bro?_

In a flash of crimson light, Zero's form appeared on the screen. He stood in the breezeless net, his digital ponytail loosely dangling from the back of his helm. Zero's red armor shimmered, his cool verdant eyes locked on the space ahead of him. "Wow…I've got to say I'm impressed," Kai said from across the display, "You are a pretty awesome looking navi." _Damn familiar, to boot_, he thought.

"How awesome I look will be of little interest to you in a few moments, Kai-sama," Zero said bluntly.

"Ooooh!" went Kai, "You certainly have spunk, navi, but you'll soon learn that unbridled confidence will get you nowhere."

Zero responded with a twitch of his left eye and a drum of his left hand's fingers. The only thing now in the crimson navi's sights was the purple pillar of light that was forming ahead of him. _It's coming,_ he thought. Taking shape was a male navi, no less than an entire three cyber-inches taller than Crystalman had been. He was garbed in what could only be described as punk-gothic armor, his boots and hands were both more like claws than anything else. His shading was pale, almost ghastly white, and instead of a helm was a mop of straight, clean light-blue hair. Each eye was a horrifying shade of a red that was like blood.

As he opened his mouth one could see two sharp canine fangs, and as he exhaled loudly he declared, "I am Shademan…I am your death."

They stared into one another's eyes for a moment, Zero and Shademan, as if to size up the other. Neither seemed to back down, two forces about to collide. "I am Zero, and I do not fear you," the red navi said.

"Pity," the black navi uttered, and then disappeared.

Shinkei looked dismayed as Shademan had apparently blinked out of existence. Without warning, the monstrous claw of the black navi's hand erupted from out of nowhere to the right of Zero. The crimson navi caught the hand at the wrist with his right hand, the burst of wind created by the momentum of the assault forcing a gust of wind that made Zero's ponytail dance behind him. Bringing his left fist around for a hook, Shinkei slammed a battle chip into his PET to increase the lethality of the attack.

Slot In, Sword L

Suddenly, Zero's free hand transmuted into an energy blade from his buster. Shademan's body, now visible, twisted with abnormal grace in order to dodge the attack. Now almost in a handstand, Shademan brought his claw-like feet in a downward arc. If Zero didn't do something he'd be in trouble. "Too slow!" Shademan cried out. As the vampiric navi completed the arc, hoping to follow through and restrain Zero on the ground, the blonde navi vanished!

The arena flickered for a moment, as if trying to adjust to the rate the graphics needed to be displayed. However, it seemed useless until, at last, Zero reappeared behind Shademan, about to deliver a kick to his opponent's unprotected back! It was as if Zero had forcibly appeared in a space that had been unoccupied until that exact moment. At the last second, Kai caved.

Slot In, Barrier

A shield of blue light appeared between Kai's navi and Zero's boot. Meeting the field of energy, a smirk on his lips, the red boot smashed through the barrier which shattered like glass. Connecting with Shademan, Zero's kick sent the black navi flying into one of the blocks a few dozen net-meters away. A wince of annoyance appeared on Kai's face, and was only aggravated by the fact that Zero looked back with a glimmer of confidence in his eyes to him.

A crack in Kai's armor had been revealed, if only a small one. Dashing at Shademan in pursuit of a quick victory, Zero pressed his assault. Just managing to recover, Shademan was on the defensive, blocking or dodging the blue energy blade from Zero's buster by the narrowest of margins. Each slash was graceful and deadly, instantly deleting anything the blade made contact with, save Shademan. In every way possible Zero appeared to be faster, more agile, and stronger. Shinkei looked overjoyed, while Kai merely began to scowl.

Yagami Kai was not someone who took losing easily, and while he'd intended to hold back Shademan's real power, it was apparent that Zero was more powerful than he'd first anticipated. The image in his mind was one of a giant monster rampaging on the net, one which he had tried to do battle with and was defeated. It had a red crest on its helm, and a blue control medallion. The beast's crimson armor and overwhelming power still held fast with a chilling grip of Kai's heartstrings.

_It can't be mere coincidence. They look far too similar. I can't tell Shinkei about this, but…I can destroy the navi now before it has a chance to transform into the creature…what am I thinking? Shinkei's my best friend, and appearances are often deceiving. But the look in its eyes…Kai's mind though, racing._

"_We have no choice, Shademan," he whispered, knowing his navi was fighting too hard to respond._

_Shinkei looked over at his friend. Kai seemed in his own world suddenly, oblivious to the battle. He was cradling his PET in front of him, holding it outwards. Suddenly, Shinkei felt something in the air. It seemed to crackle with a power that was not coming from the Nightgod's Shrine emitters. Though he couldn't see it, the force was still within his sense of perception._

"_Gates of Hell, I open thee. Forces of Darkness, I call upon thee. Hear the demand of the pact-maker, the Night God. Unleash your unholy might upon my enemy," Kai said, invoking some eldritch, unseen force._

_Shinkei didn't know if he was being dramatic, but the holo emitters began to flash and flicker, and he could swear that Shademan's bloody eyes were beginning to glow. Without warning the entire emitter shut off! Everything was dark, but then from within the center of where the arena had been, some unseen object began pulling the darkness into itself, almost as if the inverse of a torch in a cave. The arena came back into view, as if the emitters had never actually been off. Zero appeared then, alone on the floor, looking around for his opponent._

_As if he realized without seeing it, Zero looked up. There, high in the sky, was a cocoon made of darkness. Then, suddenly, the cocoon split in half and burst open. Now floating above him on wings made of pure dark energy was Shademan wielding a scythe of the same dark matter. Shinkei looked to Kai, confused. The dark glimmer in his best friend's eyes seemed to match the blackness of Shademan's wings and new weapon._

"_Behold, Shin-kun…the power I found in the Undernet…the Power of Darkness."_


End file.
